Reader Comment – 01-25-10 Complacency

Since Red Team has taken part in security exercises at a number of facilities, I asked him if there were any interesting comments that he had heard from chemical facilities that he could share. He replied in a comment to one of the fertilizer blogs posts:

“Good question. Without going into details, many facilities simply appear to rely on the misconception that extremist groups lack the required knowledge of the deadly potential of various chemicals. “When asked why they didn't attempt to secure various assets containing certain chemicals, many sites simply reply that an adversary isn't going to know how to use it.”

I wish that I could say that I am surprised to hear that comment, but I am not. There is a common misconception about terrorists, based on news accounts about the wannabes that are the most frequently apprehended terrorists, that terrorists are third-world losers that have nothing to loose. Granted that wearing a suicide vest or spraying gunfire in a crowded marketplace does not take a great deal of training, but the people behind such simple attacks use a great deal of skill and knowledge to plan these events. The ‘downtrodden masses’ of the world have never provided more than cannon fodder for revolutionary movements. The leaders of such movements always come from the dissatisfied elites and middle class. They are the only ones with the time, education and money necessary to put together these kinds of prolonged actions. Anyone that underestimates the intentions and capabilities of these organizations is just setting themselves up to be a successful target.